Truce
by WonderlandInvader
Summary: When Severus Snape is killed by Lord Voldemort, what will he find in the Great Beyond? Or, more importantly, WHO? Slight LilyxSnape, well, sort of...


All I can see is blackness, there's no sound, and it's cold…freezing almost. It's quite obvious that I'm dead, but thankfully I can no longer feel where that damned Nagini bit my neck. The pain of the venom while I was still clinging to life was almost unbearable, but I held on just long enough to see Lily's eyes one last time.

_Harry's _eyes actually…but close enough. He got them from her.

I wish this strange darkness would go away, so that I could see what, if anything, is going on around me… I have the feeling that this is only a temporary state, but it's taking so long… What if I'm wrong?

What if this _**is **_eternity?

Just as I start to worry that this is how I'll be stuck for infinity, a blinding white light appears out of nowhere, enveloping the space that I'm suspended in. I still can't see anything, but as the light starts to fade, I can make out the outlines of what looks like trees, grass, and a lake. There's a huge building of some sort in the distance, and it looks vaguely familiar…

As my vision begins to focus, I realize I'm lying flat on my back, the same way as I was when Voldemort's snake dealt her fatal blow. But, something seems different… off…it doesn't feel right…

Pushing off the ground with my hands, which are tingling like they'd fallen asleep, I look down and realize that I'm wearing the Hogwarts uniform from when I attended there. My wand is laying off to the side, like I'd been dozing and it had fallen out of my hand. Catching my reflection in the still-as-glass surface of the pond, I realize that I've been turned into the fifteen year-old version of myself.

"Wha….what am I doing here? How'd I end up back at Hogwarts?" I jumped at the sound of my own voice, it having changed to match my age. It didn't appear that anyone else was there, which made the grounds have an empty look about them.

Then suddenly, that emptiness was filled by a voice I hadn't heard in many long, painful years…

"Severus?"

I whipped my head to the left, where the sound had come from, and found myself locking eyes with none other than, "L-lily?" I could've cried…. I never thought I'd see her again.

"Oh my gosh, Sev! What happened to you? How'd you get here?" she dashed over, her scarlet hair flying out behind her. Lily fell to her knees beside me and pulled me into an embrace that sent butterflies fluttering in my stomach.

I almost couldn't speak, "I-I….Lord Voldemort…he killed me…his snake bit me…" I reached up to feel my neck, but could find no punctures.

"Oh Sev, I'm so sorry…" she brushed a flyaway hair out of my eyes, "But I'm so glad I finally get to see you again…I missed you so much…" she hugged me close again, and this time I hugged her back. I never wanted to let her go…

"Lily…I'm so s-sorry. You being here is all m-my fault!" I broke down and began to sob hysterically, "If…if I hadn't told him…about the prophecy…and, if I hadn't said that to you…and-"

"Shh…it's ok Sev. It's ok." she tried to calm me down, but I could barely hear her for my crying. Her voice changed briefly, so that it sounded older than she looked, "I'm not angry at you. I'm grateful for you watching over Harry for me and James…he's grown so much since that night…I wish we could've been with him but…" she paused for a moment, drawing in a deep breath.

I continued to kick myself mentally for her demise, "I'm s-so sorry Lily… I l-loved you and then I…I went and did something so s-stupid as joining those Death Eaters…and-"

"_Severus Tobias Snape_," she scolded me, yet she was laughing at the same time, "Relax already, would you? I said I'm not mad at you!" she kissed me sweetly on the cheek, her arms still around my neck, and her forehead resting against mine.

I sighed, allowing her to wipe the tears away, "Yeah, I know_** you**_ aren't angry… I'm mad at myself is what it is…I just can't believe that I would do something like that to _**you**_!"

"Don't worry about it Sev…the past is the past." she smiled, her green eyes twinkling in the sunlight streaming through the leaves of the tree behind us, "Speaking of which-"

"Alright Snape?" another voice cut her off…the last voice I wanted to hear.

"What's _he _doing here?" I hissed to Lily under my breath, "I was under the impression that this was supposed to be _Heaven_, not _Hell_…" I shot a heated glare at the approaching figures of James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks. Lupin and Tonks weren't all that bad really, it was the other two that I was annoyed by.

"Easy Sev, they're not here for trouble…"

"What else are those two good for? Or good _**at**_ I should say…"

Sirius spoke before Lily could answer, "What took you so long Snape? We were starting to wonder if you'd make it."

"What," I stood up, "no _Snivellus, _or _expelliarmus, _or anything like that?" I growled, half expecting them to hex me at any second, the way they used to.

Lupin shook his head, "No. Not anymore."

"We've given up on that mate." Sirius said, shoving his hands into the pocket of his robes, "Lily's threatened to skin us alive and feed us to the Giant Squid if we mess with you…not that we'd want to anyway."

James nodded in agreement, "Yeah, we owe you too much, for protecting Harry all this time I mean…"his voice much deeper than any fifteen year old's should be, "You did what we couldn't do for him. And um…err…" he cleared his throat.

Lily inclined her head toward him and beckoned for him to continue, "_**And**_…?"

"_**And**_… I wanted to thank you for keeping my son safe all this time. I can never repay you _Severus_…" James, for the first time that I can remember, pronounced my first name correctly.

Tonks gave him the same look again, causing him to roll his eyes before he went on.

"_**And**_…" he groaned, his voice returning to a higher, teenage tone, "I want -we _all _want - to apologize for behaving like a bunch of arrogant, bullying, toerag, gits when we were alive." he winked at Lily, who had called him all those things so long ago. She sighed and shook her head, but in a loving way, at her husband and his cohorts.

Lupin's eyes widened in disbelief, "By_** 'we'**_ I hope you're referring to yourself and Sirius, because _**I **_didn't **do** anything to him! _**You **_two were the instigators, not me!"

Tonks scoffed, "Yeah, but you didn't help him out either. You're just as guilty." Remus tugged playfully at her now baby blue hair, and she good-humouredly swatted his hand away.

"Anywho…so uh, how 'bout it Snape? Truce?" James stuck out his hand, seemingly sincere in his apology.

I eyed him skeptically for several minutes, not sure of what I should say, "This isn't some sick joke, is it?" I asked suspiciously.

All three of them put their hands where I could see them quite plainly, "Nothing's crossed mate, honest." Sirius promised, "None of this would joke about this."

Tonks smiled mischievously, "None of them are that stupid Severus…contrary to popular belief."

"_**Hey**_!"

"Joking! _**I **_was joking!" she threw up her hands in surrender, but the glance that she gave Lily told me that she was dead serious.

"Well, what do ya say?" James inquired again, his hand still outstretched for mine.

I had hesitated briefly, contemplating whether or not I should shake hands with him, when Lily nudged my arm from behind, "_Go on,_" she whispered, "_He means it. He wants to be friends now._" her head rested against my shoulder, her hand resting on the other.

Finally, after a tense silence among our small group, I nodded and grasped his hand, "Alright then. Truce."

"Oh, hey!" Lupin suddenly exclaimed, "James, you almost forgot the _other_ part of the deal! _Remember_? You were gonna ask him-" "OH YEAH!" he almost started jumping up and down, he was so excited, "While we're on the subject… As you can see, Snape, we Marauders are short one man, since _Wormtail_ is no longer with us…" James spat Peter Pettigrew's nickname out like a nasty taste in his mouth.

"Yeah…?"

"And, the three of us and the girls were wondering…" he smirked, "if you wanted to be the fourth Marauder?"

My jaw dropped, "You…you can't be serious!"

"I know…I'm James, _**he's**_ Sirius…"

I actually found myself laughing, "You know what I mean…you _**really **_want me to be a Marauder?"

They all nodded, "Of course, it's not the same when there's only three of us…not counting the girls of course…" Sirius added quickly.

"Well…alright," at first I'd second-guessed my decision, but then again I figured Lily would be more impressed if I became a member of this clan than when she found out I was a Death Eater. It was about that time that I happily realized my Dark Mark had disappeared from my left forearm, "But…I'm not an Animagus like you all are…"

"You can be. You can be _**anything**_ Here!" Lupin grinned, "I'm not a werewolf anymore, but I can turn into a wolf like an Animagus. I could turn into any animal I want actually."

"Lily and I weren't Animagi when we were living, but we can do it now. Wanna see?" Tonks bounced up and down, eager to show off her new ability.

"What are you two?"

She didn't say anything back, but instead turned herself into a chameleon that steadily climbed into the nearby tree. I turned back to look at Lily's reaction when I realized she wasn't there. Frantically I searched until I noticed a small, auburn colored doe with emerald green eyes staring up at me from where she'd been standing. She nudged my hand with her nose before allowing Tonks, who'd turned from grass green to bubblegum pink, to climb onto her back. The two girls then bounded away toward the castle.

Sirius and Lupin also proceeded to turn into their animal forms, a black dog and a tannish-grey wolf respectively, and dashed after them, nipping each other's heels and barking all the way.

James, still human, stood across from me with his hands back in his pockets, "Alright, here's what you've got to do to become an Animagus up Here…" he began like he was about to go into some long, drawn out speech but all he said was, "All you've got to do…is think about the animal you want to be!"

My eyebrows knitted together, "It's that simple?"

"That simple. Go on, try it. Think of an animal, any animal!"

Taking in a deep breath, I tried to focus on one creature to become…

A snake? _**Hell**_ no…

A deer? Already taken…twice.

A bat? Too creepy…

A cat? Well, it won't be long before McGonagall joins us I'm sure, so no…

Then finally, it dawned on me…a raven. Perfect.

Concentrating on a mental image of the jet black bird, I closed my eyes and immediately felt a strange, tingling sensation throughout my body. Every nerve seemed to get a shock of electricity every time I inhaled or exhaled. My eyes flew open, as I soon realized that I was no longer looking at James from eye-level, I was looking up at him from about a foot and a half off the ground.

He nodded his approval, "Not bad for your first time Sev…er, you don't mind if I call you that, do you?"

I attempted to answer, but all that came out of my mouth (_well, my beak actually_) was some hoarse cawing and croaking. Making to flail my arms in shock, I realized that I was, in fact, flapping my wings and lifting myself into the air instead.

He chuckled, "Hmm…how about crowing once for yes and twice for no?"

_Caaaaw__ caw_

"Snape then?"

_Caaaaw_

"Well, c'mon then! Dumbledore's waiting inside." James shifted from teenage boy to an enormous buck with an 8-point rack of antlers, and bounded to the main doors of the Hogwarts castle.

Soaring into the air, I flew after him, landing just short of the entrance when I suddenly noticed a large, golden lion looming in front of it. Startled by its out-of-the-blue appearance, I completely spazzed and began flying helter-skelter looking for something to hide behind. I ended up turning myself back into a human and landing flat on my rear-end just behind James, who made grunting sounds that vaguely sounded like laughter.

He too returned to normal, along with the others that had gathered around the enormous cat, "What's the matter Snape? It's just Professor Dumbledore!"

"Huh?"

The King of the Jungle transformed almost immediately into the former Headmaster of Hogwarts, wearing flowing, golden robes, "Hello Severus. Didn't expect you so soon…" Dumbledore said with a hint of sadness, "Such a terrible way to go…and it wasn't quite your _time_ yet…"

Sirius cocked his head to the side, much like his Animagus would've, "How'd he go? If you don't mind me askin'…" he looked to me curiously.

"Lord Voldemort's snake, Nagini, was instructed to bite him through the neck, because Tom thought he was the holder of the Elder Wand…which he wasn't of course." he almost smirked, "That would've been Lucius Malfoy's son, Draco. On the night that Severus had to kill me, it was Draco that disarmed me, therefore _**he **_owned the Wand… but Voldemort didn't know that."

"_Oh great…he just HAD to mention that I killed him…splendid._" I groaned inwardly. They're gonna hate me now, I just know it!

Tonks glanced from me back to Dumbledore repeatedly, "Why'd he have to kill you?"

"If Severus hadn't done it, the responsibility would've fallen on Draco, since he'd become a Death Eater before the beginning of the school year…"

"Surprise, surprise." James muttered under his breath.

"Snape's job was to make sure that his soul wouldn't be ripped apart by murder. I _asked _him to do it in his place. I was slowly dying from a disease given to me by a Horcrux that I'd destroyed, so I was going to go anyway…"

"Horcrux?" Lily, now standing beside me, inquired. I didn't even realize that she'd wrapped her arms around mine until her head was resting on my shoulder again.

Dumbledore snickered quietly, "Now, _**that**_'s another long story! How's about we go to the Great Hall and work on that Welcome Feast instead, eh?" he suggested, holding the enormous front door open for all of us to run in.

Overjoyed by the proposition of food, we all took to our heels and raced to the cavernous room to eat our fill before filling the rest of the "day" with magic and much mischief. I never thought I'd say this…maybe an eternity with the Marauders isn't so bad after all. Maybe it's because Dumbledore, Tonks and Lily are here with us…

And maybe, just maybe, it's all I wanted all along…to be a part of something like a family.


End file.
